Destinations

Humidity has a way of slowing things down: a sticky quicksand that clings to your skin and drags at your limbs. Step off a plane, and the air can feel less like a new climate and more another dimension: a steamy void to backstroke through. As a kid, I used to imagine that if I waved an empty jar in front of me on a humid day, I’d be able to collect the air: treacly, damp clouds filling my glass…

Clattering up the steps of No. Ten Manchester Stret, almost an hour later than we had anticipated, our anxiety had reached critical levels. Suitcases bouncing behind us as we tried to avoid the drizzle…

“It’s a common misconception that the grapes were squashed by the feet of workers”, our guide, Philippe, tells us. “Instead, they would wear plastic pants and be lowered in, until they were shoulder high…